MORE NEWS, 1-5: HOW NEBRASKA IS LIKE CHINA; SOLAR POWER PLANT FOR MICH; TEX BOOSTS EFFICIENCY W/APPLIANCE REBATE; MINN TO TAX ND COAL

HOW NEBRASKA IS LIKE CHINA
Wind Farms Could Create Thousands of New Neb. Jobs
Nate Jenkins, January 4, 2010 (AP via ABC News)

"Harnessing Nebraska's largely untapped wind-energy resources could create up to 40,000 jobs…[Economic Development Benefits from Wind Power in Nebraska], done by the National Renewable Energy Lab for the Nebraska Energy Office, …says that if a federal goal of having wind energy make up 20 percent of the U.S. energy supply by 2030 is met, 7,800 megawatts of wind energy would be produced in Nebraska.

"Up to 4,000 of the projected 40,000 jobs would be permanent jobs lasting as long as each wind facility operated, which is typically about two decades…4,700 temporary and permanent jobs would be created over the next 20 years if wind farms generating just 1,000 megawatts — much less than the 7,800 megawatts under the federal goal — were built."

Under varying economic scenarios, wind consistently produces big employment benefits along with abundant, emissions-free energy. (click to enlarge)

"Currently, wind farms in the state have the capacity to produce just 153 megawatts — significantly less than any state that abuts Nebraska. In Iowa, for example, existing wind farms have the capacity to produce more than 3,000 megawatts, and in Kansas, more than 1,000 megawatts…Wind-energy advocates trying to make the Nebraska more attractive to wind-energy developers point to the report as evidence of how the state could benefit from more wind farms.

"…[Like China, which is third in the world in wind-energy production but has the potential to do more,] Nebraska ranks fourth among states in wind-energy potential…[but is] 22nd in actual wind-energy production."

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"One reason is that Nebraska is the only state where all electric customers are served by publicly owned utilities…Nebraska's public-power districts have been slow to invest in wind power because it is more expensive than generating electricity with coal, and the public utilities' main goal under state law is to deliver the cheapest power possible. Also, the public-power structure has posed some legal barriers to wind-farm development, though the so-called C-BED law passed in 2007 by state lawmakers gives developers ways to work around those barriers…[T]he report did not criticize the state's public utilities…

"Among the changes lawmakers are being asked to make by a new group, the Nebraska Energy Export Association, is allowing more wind-energy development options besides the C-BED law…[including legalizing] investment in wind farms from people outside the state…[and allowing] transmission lines to be financed and constructed using public-private partnerships…That and other types of wind-energy-related construction would create the bulk of the jobs cited in the report…"


SOLAR POWER PLANT FOR MICH
4 dreamers have plan to energize state; State's cooler temperatures make for ideal conditions
Tina Lam, January 4, 2010 (Detroit Free Press)

"It might sound like a field of dreams, but Sam Field and his son Connor Field hope their new solar farm will soon bring a burst of sunshine-generated electricity to Michigan and a return on their million-dollar investment.

"With two friends, the Fields built the 700-panel solar array…[I]t's the biggest solar project in the state, providing enough electricity to Consumers Energy to power 20 to 25 homes…[A] pilot program by Consumers Energy to put renewable energy projects on the grid and pay owners a fixed price for 12 years [could] make the venture profitable."

A walk thru the Michigan solar power plant. (From the Free Press - click to enlarge)

"Michiganders pay an average of 10 to 11 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity, mostly from coal. Consumers' experimental program will buy renewable energy from homeowners and companies at 45 to 65 cents per kilowatt hour. The program has filled up quickly and now has a waiting list of eager sellers…The Fields' Galesburg solar farm is the first large project to come on line under the program…

"…[M]ore than 700 [10-foot-tall] solar panels stand in neat rows in a field behind a farmhouse…Covering 1 1/2 acres, all of the panels are set at the same sharp angle to capture the winter light…[ready to be] hooked up [in the coming months] to the electricity grid…by Consumers Energy, which like other utilities in the state is required to get 10% of electricity from renewable sources by 2015…"

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"The Fields designed, cut, drilled and welded every piece of steel and spent hours calculating where the sun's shadow would fall on the panels...They are pioneers who say they believe in renewable energy and decided not to wait for someone else to create it…[C]ooler temperatures, rather than the desert heat of Arizona or the steamy warmth of Florida, are better for producing electricity from the project's photovoltaic panels, because once temperatures rise beyond 75 degrees, the panels work less efficiently…In winter, sun reflects off snow, increasing the energy, and even on cloudy days, about 80% of the sun's energy still gets through…

"…[T]he state's peak sun energy averages 3 1/2 to 4 hours a day on an annual basis…an hour more per day than most of Germany, and Germany is a world leader in solar power…Michigan has about 900 kilowatts of solar power installed…up from about 100 kilowatts in 2000…[B]ecause no one has yet built a project this size in Michigan…there are no guarantees…Solar power is more expensive than wind, coal or nuclear energy, although many expect the costs…to drop [with] new technology…DTE Energy has a similar pilot program called Solar Currents, which also buys solar energy from homes and small businesses…[and] pays about a third of the installed cost of a home solar system, plus additional fees for each hour of energy produced…"


TEX BOOSTS EFFICIENCY W/APPLIANCE REBATE
Appliance rebates, Texas-sized; State’s deals in promotion of energy-efficient appliances will be among top in U.S.
Tom Fowler, January 2, 2010 (Houston Chronicle)

"Texans will get some of the country's most generous rebates for new appliance purchases under a federal stimulus program, including up to $315 for a new energy-efficient refrigerator…[T]he deals don't kick in until April…[but get ready because] the money may go fast.

"The rebates are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal stimulus program that has doled out billions of dollars through programs such as the “cash for clunkers” new car purchase program and “smart grid” electric infrastructure investments…Of the $300 million set aside to encourage the purchase of new energy-efficient appliances, Texas received $23.3 million, which will be administered through the office of state Comptroller Susan Combs…"

click thru for more info on Energy Star appliances

"Many of the details of the plan are still up in the air, since the state hasn't chosen a contractor to coordinate the program. But the dollar amounts and dates are set…Of the 56 states and territories taking part in the program, Texas rebates will be among the highest…

"…[A] new EnergyStar-labeled [i.e., DOE/EPA certified efficient] refrigerator is eligible for a $240 mail-in rebate. Purchasers who recycle their old refrigerators and provide proof can get an additional $75…In California…rebates for new refrigerator are just $75 and consumers are required to recycle their older appliances…Of the plans that have been approved and formalized, only Kansas is providing larger refunds, with up to $700 for refrigerators and $800 for clothes washers…"

click thru for a home assessment

"The rebates apply only to EnergyStar-labeled appliances purchased from April 16 to April 25…Texas consumers will be able to reserve their rebates in the two weeks before the purchase window by applying online or by phone, but details aren't yet available…Appliance rebate programs have been in place for a number of years, but this is the first year the federal program has been funded so heavily.

"The stimulus refunds probably won't lead many consumers to make purchases they weren't planning…But the rebates may encourage purchases of higher-end units that are more efficient, particularly in Texas where the rebates can equal up to 15 percent of a new appliance's purchase price…The $75 appliance rebate could trigger a boom for Texas appliance recyclers…"


MINN TO TAX ND COAL
N.D. Eyes Suit Against Minn. Over Carbon Tax
December 29, 2009 (AP via WCCO/CBS)

"Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said North Dakota is likely to file a legal challenge to Minnesota's efforts to make it costlier for utilities to use coal-generated electricity produced in western North Dakota.

"North Dakota officials have tried for months to change or soften the rules, which say power sources that generate carbon dioxide should include $9 to $34 in extra costs per ton of gas produced. The rules are intended to encourage utilities to use alternative energy sources…Stenehjem argued the rules would violate the U.S. Constitution's restrictions on states regulating each other's businesses."

click thru to read the Greenpeace report

"Minnesota's Public Utilities Commission has rejected North Dakota's arguments…Stenehjem, Gov. John Hoeven and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring are members of the North Dakota Industrial Commission, which oversees a state coal research fund…

"The state Legislature has authorized the commission to spend up to $2 million on possible litigation in the Minnesota dispute…[N]o decisions have been made on when a lawsuit will be filed, or whether it would be brought in state or federal court."

The best thing about Minnesota's move is that it could force ND to develop some of the nation's best winds. (click to enlarge)

"Western North Dakota's lignite fields supply nearby power plants that provide electricity for Minnesota customers…Great River Energy, of Maple Grove, Minn., owns power plants near the western North Dakota communities of Underwood and Stanton that are capable of generating almost 1,300 megawatts of power. Great River supplies electricity to 28 rural Minnesota cooperatives…Otter Tail Power Co., based in Fergus Falls, Minn., supplies communities in western Minnesota and manages the 427-megawatt Coyote station south of Beulah, N.D.

"The regulatory dispute dates to the mid-1990s, when the Minnesota PUC considered proposals to assess environmental costs of electricity generated by North Dakota coal plants…The PUC's initial estimates, published in December 2007, assumed coal-generated electricity would carry an environmental cost of at least $4 per ton of carbon dioxide generated, with a maximum of $30 a ton…[more recent estimates] put the range at $9 to $34 per ton…[which could] add roughly $7.50 to $28 monthly to the electric bill of a residential customer…The increase would be lessened if the utility supplied power from other sources that generate less carbon dioxide…"